'Fitness For Life': Running With The Crew

High school students in Williamsburg-James City County Schools' "Fitness for Life" physical education class exchanged books for boats recently.

They took up crew in a weeklong pilot class as part of the schools' effort to promote lifelong exercise.

The schools, Williamsburg Boat Club and the athletic department at the College of William and Mary collaborated on the project. Boat Club members first approached school officials with the idea this year. The course was offered to students during the last week of school.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Friday, July 27, 2007.Two photos were credited incorrectly in some of Thursday's Town Square sections. For a story on the Foodbank of the Peninsula, the cover photo was by Denise Owen. Williamsburg-James City County Schools provided photos to accompany a story on a new rowing program in the division. (Text corrected.)

"We wanted to introduce rowing as a lifetime fitness sport -- as another option for exercise and overall health and well-being," said Bob Morrison, vice president and head coach of the Boat Club. "We thought it would be a nice match."

"Rowing is something we had never done with our students," Trainum said. "When I was contacted by the members of the Boat Club, the activity sounded exciting and worth trying."

More than 50 students from Jamestown and Lafayette high schools participated in the course. The students visited the recreation center at William and Mary to train on the rowing team's ergometers. They spent a few days building upper-body strength and endurance on the rowing machines.

"We really wanted to show them the proper way to row, in order to be the most efficient and get the most workout," Morrison said. "The kids were really motivated."

"Several students said they had seen the ergometer in the gym but did not know how to use the machine," Trainum said. "After the week with the Boat Club members, students now can use this piece of equipment correctly."

"I learned a lot about the sport," said Molly Hill, a recent Lafayette grad.

"A lot of us didn't know anything about it, so it was pretty neat. It's a lot harder than it looks. But I definitely see myself wanting to learn more about it later on."

The students also viewed video of Olympic rowers. The course culminated with a morning along the Chickahominy River to practice the skills that they'd learned, with help from Boat Club volunteers.

The college's rowing team supplied the boats, which are stored at Chickahominy Riverfront Park.

"Being out on the boats was very cool," Hill said.

"It was a lot of fun working as a team when we were on the boat," said Krissy Walentisch, who also just graduated from Lafayette.

"We had to be in rhythm and in sync. It was really interesting. It was a good experience, and I think all classes should do it."

The pilot proved so successful, Trainum hopes to try the program again come fall, adding rowing to the list of activities available to students as part of the elective.